"The Coming Year"--Announcing Our Plans

Below is a message I sent to friends and family in June of 2007 to announce our plans:

If you have not recently heard from Katherine or me, I’d like to share with you some plans that we have for the coming year.

Like many, Katherine and I frequently have felt that life is too short—kids grow up faster than we’d like, work life and home life are all-consuming, priorities get out of order at times, and although we’re all fine for now, we know that good health is never a given. With these thoughts in mind, we’ve decided to take Marshall and Wallis out of school this year so that we can take a family trip around the world.

The seeds were planted last year when we made plans for the four of us and my parents to visit South Africa this July. Separately, I decided to wind down my involvement in a real estate project on the coast of Georgia and subsequently made plans to go to India for two weeks to explore business opportunities (as I write this, I am on a train between New Delhi and Jaipur). Looking far and wide for both business and pleasure pretty quickly led us to revisit a wish we’ve had since our two years’ time in England and Japan nearly 15 years ago, that of significant travel with our kids. It’s not the usual path, but in effect we’re consuming a retirement year now, to be put to better use than we feel it might be spent in the future.

In our case, the timing seems right: I’m in a career break, and the kids are of an age at which they can enjoy the trip yet not feel they are missing too much back in Atlanta. Also, with “home” schooling in mind, they are of the age at which they still respect authority and have coursework that we’re competent enough to teach (drilling them on multiplication and vocab is doable, while having to re-learn calculus and chemistry would make for one very painful year). This trip will also allow me to indulge my “inner writer,” who has been stifled within the world of finance and administration for much too long.

We’ll return from S. Africa at the end of this July, as previously planned, and should need 4 to 5 weeks to shut down the system in Atlanta. If things go as we hope, we’ll set out in early September for the remaining ten months of this year-long journey. In feeble pursuit of “genuine” experiences, we plan to spend as much of the trip as possible in lower-profile areas, staying in rented houses or apartments and with as many friends and family as can bear us.

For those of you living outside the U.S., we hope that we can see you during the upcoming year. Our schedule is in the works, but after South Africa we expect to have multiple stops throughout South America, Australia/NZ, Asia, Europe, and a number of places in between. It would be great to catch up with you if you’re available.

For those of you whom we see more frequently, we will certainly miss you, although we know from experience that a year can go by very quickly. Our house will be available during this time–please let me know if any recently assigned executives, families new to Atlanta, or prospective victims of an extended home renovation come to mind who might be interested in renting an in-town house in Ansley Park. The pick of the wine cellar for any solid referrals!

That’s about it for now. Words of encouragement are welcome. Critics need not reply.

Best Regards,
Eric